Alison Checks In One Week After Isaac's Arrival

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Alison's bundle o' boy at 3 hours

Isaac Stewart Wolff turns one!

One week old, that is......

What a difference a week makes. This morning my son and I ( so funny to write that) went to the pediatrician, where he was described as "one of the strongest infants" the doctor has ever seen.

Regular readers know about 11 days ago I had a really tough time with the first two trips to the hospital, but the third was the charm. We were given the superstar treatment -- literally, since we were assigned the same fancy labor room as used by Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael J. Fox/Tracey Pollan and Bowie and Iman -- and after 11 hours of labor and one C section, 8 pounds and 6 ounces of cuteness came into the world.

As I've blogged, Ike was over a week late but we think we know why. In my family a lot of us were born on holidays. My birthday is July 4th, my sister is New Years Day, my niece July 4th, my paternal grandfather Halloween, my maternal grandfather New Years Day, my paternal grandmother was born on the first day of summer and my mother is Thanksgiving (11/25).

So we think he was holding out for a holiday and don't you know...his cumpleaños is Cinco de Mayo.

More maternity leave blog posts on the way...but right now....a dirty diaper needs changing.....

Alison Stewart

4:10 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Alison Delivers .... a Blistering Memo

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Okay, my maternity leave has now turned political.

I, a person who has insurance, an amazing doctor, a couple of brain cells that work and enough confidence to question the system, have experienced in the past 16 hours our broken medical system at one of the best hospitals in the country.

I got caught up in an overcrowded, understaffed hospital which led a night-long cycle of being checked in, checked out, checked in, checked out. IV in, IV out. Let's just say what was supposed to happen didn't.

Without divulging too much of my own personal information, I'll just say I've been thinking all morning about how much time TV and radio, as well as the campaigns, have wasted on trivial issues when people are struggling just to get basics like food, housing and health care.

No baby yet. All is well, but I am back at home.

Alison Stewart

4:04 PM ET | 05- 2-2008 | permalink | comments (8) | e-mail post

Maternity Leave, Day Nine

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Speed Racer makes the time fly by.

No baby yet. Frustration and concern began to set in, and then I remembered the words of Project Runway's great philosopher, Tim Gunn -- Make it work!

Making maternity leave work:

1) Rub elbows with former presidents. Strolled within 3 feet of Bill Clinton in the west village on Monday. Got the hairy eyeball from Secret Service who spied my MSNBC jacket.
2) Tag along to screenings with friends. Speed Racer mid-afternoon in a cushy Time Warner screening room?! Nice. It may be the movie of the summer. Visually arresting human cartoon craziness.
3) Excuse to eat spicy Chinese food -- didn't work to bring on labor but I do love the stinky garlic broccoli at Empire Szechuan.
4) Download pop music and dance around the house nine-and-half-months pregnant. Sorry for the visual. Currently on the hit list: Duffy's "Mercy."
5) Start that fierce book you always dreamed about. Page one is pretty good, if I do say so myself.

The update: Baby Stewolff will join us by Friday, so the doctors tell me. Stay tuned.

Alison Stewart

1:13 PM ET | 04-30-2008 | permalink | comments (11) | e-mail post

Alison Asks: Is This Story Sexist?

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Day 8: I was reading an article in the Sunday New York Times about public radio trying to energize its listenership. As a working woman, soon to be working mother, one paragraph grabbed me, for all the wrong reasons.

"The [Bryant Park Project] had a tough start. One host, Luke Burbank, quit just before the first day, Oct. 1, although he didn't leave until mid-December. The remaining host, Alison Stewart, is on maternity leave. "

Do we still live in a time when maternity leave is seen as a negative, a problem, a hurdle -- something that creates a "tough" situation for co-workers? I've heard of women who hide their pregnancies or don't tell their bosses. When I read this piece, it struck me this paragraph fed into the idea that having a baby is a liability for women in the workplace. Didn't the governor of Alaska just give birth?

I have to admit I was initially kind of nervous to tell my bosses that Bill and I had been overachievers in the baby making department. We were shooting for post-election -- TMI, I know.

For the record NPR has been nothing short of AWESOME about the first BPP baby. My exec producer and BPPeeps are incredibly supportive and frankly, if I can reach around and pat myself on the back, more than once I did the show shortly after barfing in the bathroom 10 minutes before airtime.

So a tough start for us because of a pregnancy and maternity leave? Was that a sexist paragraph in the Times or a grim reality? Just curious what our BPP community thinks. Disagreeing is heartily welcomed.

Alison Stewart

1:40 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (30) | e-mail post

Alison Checks In: No Baby Yet

Filed under: Maternity Leave

Kid has a baseball team already, thanks to Bill Wolff's co-workers.

What happens when a woman who has been cranking for a year on the BPP takes off for maternity leave?

Well . . .

Day 1: April 21
Woke up at 3:30 am. 3:30 AM!! I pitch some ideas to the BPP, to which Pashman responds, "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" Yup. Instead, I decide to organize and clean every closet. And in an effort to get to my mecca, the Container store, I almost broke a personal rule...and left the house in sweat pants!! I'd made a pact with myself that no matter how tired/wide/harassed, I would get dressed every day.

Day 2: April 22
Made a bold decision to attend a "salon-like" soiree on the Upper East Side -- complete with a guy who restores castles in Scotland, a yoga instructor and travel writer. I had to figure out the how to spend the least amount of time in the subway in case I went into labor. Figured 2/3 train to 72nd and then bus across only meant 20 minutes underground. All went well, except NO ONE gave up his/her seat to a nine-months-pregnant lady. Gotta love NY!

Day 3: April 23
Big doctor's appointment -- will I be spirited off to the hospital? Nope. No big news. Rats. I keep seeing ads for Tina Fey's Baby Mama -- can't decide if it will make me laugh or cry to see it at this point.

Day 4: April 24
My due date. Come and gone. At least I accomplished something today and finished Lush Life from Richard Price. So great -- I hope y'all check out our interview with him again.

Day 5: April 25
I keep seeing reports saying a mother's breakfast might affect the gender of a child. I ate the same thing every day for almost nine months. So what does a whole-grain English muffin with omega-3 peanut butter mean?

Alison Stewart

3:09 PM ET | 04-25-2008 | permalink | comments (10) | e-mail post